Brisbane maintained their position in the top 8 and continued West Coast's disastrous season, when the Lions were 56 points too good in their Saturday night clash at the Gabba. The damage was done in the second quarter, a 6 goals to 2 run giving the Lions a 35 point lead at the long break. From there the result was never in doubt, despite a brief rally by the Eagles in the third term. Midfielders Simon Black and Luke Power dominated the midfield, while Daniel Bradshaw was the pick of the forwards with 4 goals.Brisbane 5.4 11.5 14.7 17.11 (113)West Coast 3.3 5.6 8.10 9.13 (67)Goals : Brisbane - Bradshaw 4, Brown 3, Charman 3, Johnstone 2, Corrie 2, Clark, McGrath, Drummond. West Coast - Hansen 2, Lynch 2, LeCras 2, McNamara, McKinley, Wirrpanda.Best : Brisbane - Power, Black, Dalziell, Drummond, Bradshaw. West Coast - Cox, Embley, Staker, Fletcher, Mackenzie.Injuries : Brisbane - Nil. West Coast - Glass (quad).Reports - Nil. Umpires - Nicholls, Ellis, Mollison.Crowd - 27,784 at Gabba.

Hawthorn let a golden opportunity to move into the top 2 slip when the Hawks were upset by 30 points by St Kilda. Everything looked to be going to plan when the Hawks led by 28 points at half time, but the third quarter saw the Saints step up to take the lead. Inspired by skipper Nick Riewoldt's bag of 6 goals, the Saints had runners everywhere; making the more highly-fancied Hawks look flat and slow. For the Hawks, it was a chance for second spot gone begging, but for the Saints it was an all-important result that maintains their position in the top 8.St Kilda 3.1 6.3 14.5 18.11 (119)Hawthorn 5.4 10.7 12.8 13.11 (89)Goals : St Kilda - Riewoldt 6, Blake 3, Schneider 2, Dal Santo 2, Dempster, Koschitzke, Jones, Gram, Milne. Hawthorn - Williams 3, Franklin 3, Roughead 3, Hodge 2, Osborne 2.Best : St Kilda - Riewoldt, Blake, Dal Santo, Hayes, Montagna, Schneider, Ball, S.Fisher. Hawthorn -Hodge, Sewell, Williams, Roughead, Croad.Injuries : St Kilda - Nil. Hawthorn - Young (back) replaced in selected side by LewisReports - Nil. Umpires - Stewart, Meredith, McInerney.Crowd - 41,886 at Telstra Dome.

A high-scoring, entertaining and see-sawing match at Telstra Dome ended in victory for Sydney, the Swans taking 4 very valuable points in a 2-point thriller. With the Blues spurred on by a vocal home crowd, and with Sydney having no interchange players left after injuries to Leo Barry, Ryan O'Keefe, Michael O'Loughlin and Adam Goodes, the home side took the lead in the last quarter and looked set to cruise to victory. But the Swans are made of tougher stuff than that, and after a thrilling last quarter in which the lead continued to fluctuate it was the Swans who held the advantage when the final siren sounded. The result maintains Sydney's position in the top 4, while the Blues now find themselves at serious risk of falling out of finals calculations.Sydney 2.1 8.5 14.10 18.13 (121)Carlton 5.5 10.9 15.9 18.11 (119)Goals : Carlton - Fevola 5, Betts 3, Judd 2, Kreuzer, Fisher, Russell, Walker, Waite, Hartlett, Murphy, Grigg, Sydney - McVeigh 4, O'Keefe 3, Bevan 2, Moore 2, Jolly 2, Goodes 2, J. Bolton, Playfair, Roberts-Thompson.Best : Carlton - Gibbs, Fevola, Scotland, Murphy, Jamison, Betts, Carrazzo. Sydney - J. Bolton, O'Keefe, Jolly, Moore, McVeigh, Mattner, Bevan.Injuries : Carlton - Walker (shoulder), Fevola (corked thigh). Sydney - Malceski (calf) replaced in selected side by Grundy, Barry (hamstring), O'Loughlin (ankle), O'Keefe (ankle), Goodes (groin).Reports - Nil. Umpires - Stevic, Chamberlain, Kamolins.Crowd - 38,401 at Telstra Dome.

A 7 goal burst in the third quarter gave North Melbourne the momentum to defeat Collingwood in a Friday night blockbuster at Telstra Dome. The Magpies made the early front running, but the Kangaroos fought hard to stay in touch, and trailed by 13 points at the long break. But the stronger third term gave the Roos a 10-point lead at the last change. John Anthony's 4th goal early in the last quarter reduced the margin to a kick, but North were not to be denied; with two goals in a minute to David Hale and Daniel Pratt giving the Roos a buffer and ensuring they would take an 18-point win.Kangaroos 1.4 5.6 12.8 17.12 (114)Collingwood 3.3 7.7 10.10 14.12 (96)Goals : Kangaroos - Jones 3, Petrie, Goldstein, Grant 2, Campbell, Firrito, Thomas, Ross, Harvey, Pratt, Hale, McMahon. Collingwood - Anthony 4, Wellingham, Medhurst 2, Pendlebury, Swan, Didak, O'Bree, Lockyer, Maxwell.Best : Kangaroos - Petrie, Harvey, Firrito, Gibson, Rawlings, Wells. Collingwood - Didak, Anthony, Pendlebury, Burns.Injuries : Kangaroos - Pratt (ankle). Collingwood - L Davis (soreness) replaced in selected side by Wellingham.Reports - Nil. Umpires - McBurney, James, Jeffery.Crowd - 46,610 at Telstra Dome.

The much-anticipated Geelong v Western Bulldogs game at Skilled Stadium lived up to the hype, with an even contest for three quarters before the Cats ran away in the last term to take a 61-point victory. The sides traded blows throughout the first half, with scores level at quarter time and again at half time. But the Cats got a run on early in the third, kicking the first 4 goals of the quarter, and although the Bulldogs worked hard to stay in touch by three quarter time, the Cats looked to have the momentum to make their way to victory. Late replacement Ryan Gamble was in strong form with 4 goals up forward, while the Geelong midfield, even without Ablett and Ling, were strong around the ground.Geelong 3.3 6.11 11.12 19.17 (131)Western Bulldogs 3.3 7.5 9.9 10.10 (70)Goals : Geelong - Gamble 4, S. Johnson 3, Mooney 3, Bartel 2, Stokes 2, Ottens, Mackie, Taylor, Chapman, Lonergan. Bulldogs - Giansiracusa 3, Eagleton 2, Johnson, Lake, Welsh, Hahn, Ray.Best : Geelong - Scarlett, Milburn, Bartel, Enright, Taylor, Mooney, Gamble, Ottens. Bulldogs - Gilbee, Cross, Giansiracusa, Griffen, Cooney.Injuries : Geelong - Wojcinski (achilles) replaced in selected side by Gamble. Bulldogs - Johnson (ankle).Reports - Nil. Umpires - Donlon, Vozzo, RyanCrowd - 24,801 at Skilled Stadium

Richmond kept their finals chances alive when they ended Essendon's 4 match winning streak with a thrilling 4-point victory at the MCG. The Tigers were looking in control when they led by 24 points at half time, but a 6 goals to 1 third term turned the game on its head as the Bombers hit the lead. But the Tigers regrouped, regaining their composure to take a 7-point lead as the clock ticked past the 30 minute mark. A snap from Brett Stanton cut the margin by a point.But it was at this point that the main talking point of the game came. Tiger defender Joel Bowden played on from the kick-in, holding on to the ball and running down the clock before deliberately rushing a behind. Repeating the dose, the margin had been cut to 4 points before the final siren sounded, Bowden's tactic of running down the clock denying the Bombers possession.Richmond 5.2 11.5 12.9 16.12 (108)Essendon 3.2 7.5 13.7 15.14 (104)Goals : Richmond - Morton 4, Brown 3, Deledio 3, Simmonds 2, Johnson, Tambling, Bowden, Hughes. Essendon - Lucas 3, Stanton 2, Lloyd 2, Jetta 2, Reimers, Hille, Lonergan, Laycock, Slattery, Atkinson.Best : Richmond - Foley, Brown, Deledio, Simmonds, Tuck, Moore, McGuane. Essendon - Hille, Watson, Stanton, Ryder, Reimers.Injuries : Richmond - Connors replaced in selected side by Thursfield. Essendon - Fletcher (ankle) replaced in selected side by Michael, Welsh (concussion), Monfries (ankle), Neagle (ankle).Reports - Nil. Umpires - Rosebury, Ryan, Head.Crowd - 56,746 at the MCG.